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As PPT readers would probably know, back in the days of the People’s Alliance for Democracy demonstrations, the queen showed her support for PAD several times.
For example, as reported in The Nation, following the 7 October 2008 demonstration and the use of tear gas, where explosions caused injuries and one death, she was reported: “HM the Queen is very worried that the incident happened and that many people were injured during the incident…”. She donated “Bt100,000 to Vachira Hospital where many injured [PAD] protesters were treated.” Further, the “Royal Household Bureau informed the hospital to foot the bills of the injured protesters with the bureau.” Following this, she and Princess Chulabhorn made a remarkably clear political statement when, according to Asia Times they “presided over the funeral service of a PAD protester who was killed during the October 7 melee. According to the local press, the queen told the female victim’s parents that she had died a “protector” of the monarchy.”
Now Prachatai (12 August 2009: “Artist reborn”) adds to this by reporting the queen’s meeting with “[a]n artist who lost his right hand during the clash … on Oct 7…. He was granted an audience with HM the Queen to offer portraits of her, which Her Majesty praised as ‘very good’.”
Readers might consider this a simple act or royal benevolence, but it is also a continuation of her support for yellow shirts and comes when the queen gets huge publicity at the time of her birthday, which is a national holiday, and every free-to-air television channel saturates the airways with her speech and images. Her speech this year revolved around the king’s health and maintaining the monarchy’s image as being charitable and caring. She also made a call for national unity, a call she and the king regularly make.
The political significance of the artist’s visit to the queen was claimed by PAD leader Sondhi Limthongkul (see Prachatai, 12 August 2009: “Sondhi slams Suthep as ungrateful and closely tied to Thaksin”).
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